As I Wake, by Sarah DiCello

Danielle has been in a terrible accident, but what is more upsetting to her is that her travel to her past life in Cape May seems to be over.  Dani knows without a doubt that her past life as Caroline is no longer a part of her life, and mourns this.  But before she knows it, she begins traveling to yet another past life, this time as Elizabeth in 1920's New Orleans.  Once again, people from her life as Dani show up in her life as Elizabeth.  As Dani tries to learn more about her special ability to travel this way, she learns family secrets and the key to her future.

In this second book in this series, we learn significantly more about Dani as a character.  When I reviewed the first book, I mentioned I liked the past life portions of the book better than the present.  But in this sequel, I must say, I just really liked the entire story.  I felt that the balance between past and present was perfect.  The past portions of the story moved at a faster pace, which makes sense, since most readers will already be familiar with the fact that Dani time travels in her dreams.  I really liked seeing the deeper link between Dani's past lives and her present.  It made Dani's character really come alive for me, and made me really care about her so much more.

I found the story to be a complex, and richly written.  Dani is mourning the ending of one past life, trying to sort out another past life, and dealing with the reality of her present life.  It is a lot to take in.  When one character takes on multiple identities and names, it can get confusing for readers sometimes.  Yet in this book, we have multiple characters taking one multiple identities and names, and never once was I confused.  Past and present run parallel.  

I love that this book is highly romantic, with a decent amount of steaminess, without being to overly sexual.  Fans of romantic fiction will enjoy the book, and it is appropriate for both teen readers and adult readers.  I great book to read over your holiday break!

I received a review copy of the book courtesy of the author in exchange for my honest opinion. 



If you liked this review, please rate it (and others!) as helpful on my Amazon profile. My Amazon Profile